Innovative LC BladePatch® Saves Time, Eases Management for Humana Inc.
Download PDFTo service more than 13 million customers and more than 51,600 employees, Humana’s data centers feature large volumes of 40 and 100 Gb/s duplex fiber links connecting critical networking equipment. This has resulted in high-density fiber patching areas that can be difficult to manage and access. According to Jay Pielemeier, manager of data center architecture and services for Humana, fiber connections with Humana’s data centers have become even tighter and more difficult to access as the number of assets has increased significantly with Humana’s growth.
Siemon presented Humana with an overview of its solutions and services, and provided samples of the LC BladePatch jumper with its revolutionary push-pull boot design to control the latch for easy access and removal in tight-fitting fiber patching areas. Following on-site meetings and demonstrations, Humana placed an initial order of more than 2,500 LC BladePatch jumpers in various lengths and standardized on LC BladePatch for all of their fiber patching needs. Since the initial use of the LC BladePatch jumpers, Humana and Siemon have formed a solid relationship with each other and with Siemon’s local distribution partner to support stock that ensures superior lead times for Humana’s needs.
“Due to such high-density, the previous fibers jumpers we were using were simply too difficult to remove without compromising adjacent connections,” explains Pielemeier. “Working with Siemon’s LC BladePatch jumpers has been a positive experience as they’re much easier on our technicians’ hands and far more versatile in high-density environments.”
LC BladePatch also features a patented rotating latch design that allows for easy polarity changes in the field without the potential for fiber damage as only the latch rotates during polarity changes, rather than the entire connector. The rotating latch also clearly indicates if a polarity change has been made.
“Often when we’re transmitting data from point A to point B, we need to change polarity on one side to ensure that the transmit signal matches the corresponding receiver. However, changing polarity with our previous jumpers was not something we could easily do without the potential for damage or lost parts, and it was difficult to tell if a polarity change had been made,” says Pielemeier. “We have discovered that with Siemon’s LC BladePatch jumpers, just the polarity change feature alone saves 15% of our time.”
Siemon’s LC BladePatch jumpers feature superior low-loss performance and are available in multimode and singlemode, including APC for high-speed applications. LC BladePatch uses a smaller diameter uni-tube cable design that reduces pathway congestion, improving airflow in and around computing equipment. In addition to the push-pull activation, the lowprofile boot design of the LC BladePatch optimizes side stackability in high-density environments. Siemon’s innovative LC BladePatch uni-boot family also includes LC to LC trunks and MTP to LC trunks as a cost-effective alternative for a wide range of patching configurations and distances.
For more information, or to request an LC BladePatch sample, visit: www.siemon.com/lcbp
“Often when we’re transmitting data from point A to point B, we need to change polarity on one side to ensure that the transmit signal matches the corresponding receiver. However, changing polarity with our previous jumpers was not something we could easily do without the potential for damage or lost parts, and it was difficult to tell if a polarity change had been made. We have discovered that with Siemon’s LC BladePatch jumpers, just the polarity change feature alone saves 15% of our time.”
